Overview
- The Excise Department recorded 725 FIRs and 730 arrests between April and August 2026, officials said.
- Enforcement teams seized 197 vehicles and recovered about 220,000 bottles of illegal liquor during the same five-month period.
- Those figures are roughly double the April–August 2025 totals, when authorities logged 315 FIRs, 312 arrests, 112 vehicle seizures and about 100,000 bottles recovered.
- Officials say Delhi’s borders with neighbouring states and some 70 large and small entry points make the city vulnerable to smuggling, so route surveillance has been increased.
- The government has filed seven FIRs against licensed premises, sealed some bars and fined operators while promising legal supplies through state-run vends and on-premises outlets to meet festival demand.